52 in 52 - book 17 - Silverthorn - Raymond E Feist

Quickly following its prequel was Silverthorn, second in the series and the saga. The war has ended, but there is other trouble afoot. The new prince's almost wife is is on the verge of death, and no one knows the cure. 432 pages of adventure and battle, fantasy at its best. I highly recommend everyone who loves fantasy to read these books!

 

52 in 52 - book 14 - Pandora's Box - Giselle Green

Pandora's box. "Contains all the evils in the world" in Greek mythology, and although the parallels are drawn here, it is not the goddess Pandora, but the mother/grandmother of the protagonists.

A handy guide on the back of this book lets you prepare yourself- 50% tear-jerker, 20% drama, and 15% each friendship and love.  

For me, the 435 pages held no tears, but it was dramatic, easy to read, and I did stay awake half the night (having started reading at 11pm), two nights in a row to finish it. 

The story of terminally ill Shelly, who has watched her friend with the same disease die a horrible, painful, and drawn out death decides she will not endure the deterioration, she will take matters into her own hands. 

And 2 years as a single mother with full time care of her dying teenage daughter has left Rachel feeling lonely and deserted- by her ex husband, by her best friend as their lives take different courses, and by her mother Pandora who is emigrating to Australia (book set in UK), but not before sending "Pandora's box" full of childhood memories, pain, and best-forgotten-secrets. 

There is love, there is pain, and moral and ethical complexities which make the story interesting and thought provoking. Great read! 

52 in 52 - Book 12 - All The Light We Cannot See - Anthony Doerr

A book loaned to me by my sister, and it was amazing. 

Not QUITE unputdownable, but pretty close! 

It's been a while since I've been captured in the world of a book whilst "getting on with real life" 

The book is a fictional story based in WWII following the stories of a French girl, Marie-Laure, being raised by her widdower father; and an orphan German boy, Werner, growing up with his younger sister Jutta, and many other orphans under the care of a French house mother, Frau Elena. 

Marie-Laurie spends her days exploring and learning from professors in the museum where her father is the locksmith and master of keys. Despite losing her eyesight at age 6, she is able to use her other senses to perceive the world in colours of a different kind. 

Rumours abound of a cursed diamond, that has made its way through the rise and fall of nations and kingdoms, being stored at the museum. And when the invasion begins, it is with a precious stone that Marie-Laure and her father leave Paris on foot, walking past gridlocked traffic, a standstill caused by the occupants of the city fleeing invasion.  Marie-Laure is unaware of the stone her father carries, and he, not knowing whether it is the cursed diamond or one of 3 copies, anguishes over the risk they will be under the curse. 

The safe house arranged for them is deserted and being looted when they arrive, forcing them to press on to the seaside village his father grew up in, to the family home still occupied by his uncle, Etienne. A man haunted by ghosts of The Great War, Etienne has not left the house in decades, his radio collection allows him to be in touch with the world. 

Werner, being an orphan, will be forced into work in the coal mine as soon as he turns 15. The very place his father died. He and Jutta spend their days exploring, scavenging for extra food for the orphanage, finding odds and ends that have been discarded, and Werner's bright mind sees the patterns, asks questions, invents. He wants to be an engineer, an inventor... He fixes a found radio, then improves it, and before he knows it he is renowned as the radio repairman for the village. It is through this that he is tested and taken in to a excellent school, not knowing at the time of acceptance that he was being trained for war. 

As you can probably tell, this book has made an impression upon me. I will not spoil any more. It is a great read. 530 pages, excellently written. I highly recommend it. 

52 in 52- book 11 - Bad Girls of the Bible - Liz Curtis Higgs

So! The bible full of bad girls? I've just read about 10 of them! Eve Potiphar's wife, Lot's wife, the woman at the well, Delilah, Sapphira, Rahab, Jezebel, Michal, and "the sinful woman" 

The "badness" of these ladies varied between one bad attitude or decision, to a lifetime of sinful attitude and bad behaviour. 

But do you know what? It's far easier to relate to the imperfect than the perfect. We aren't all shiny and unblemished. We have made bad decisions and spoken in anger and without thought... But we are forgiven through faith, just like some of these women. Eve was God's hand crafted masterpiece, not made from dust like Adam, nope, created from Adam's rib. And she made a tremendous mistake in engaging in conversationwith the serpent, exaggerating God's word, and playing the blame game!! But she still went on to be the mother of humankind. She was forgiven. Women of ill repute were forgiven, just a matter of believing Christ is God and the saviour of all, and forgiveness is there for the asking. 

In May I'll be doing a 15 minute talk on one of the ladies from this book, I haven't chosen who yet, but I'm excited. Might even get some photos! 

52 in 52 BOOK 5 - The Beach Cafe - Lucy Diamond

A whirlwind trip across the country for a wedding is always a good opportunity to get into some new books! 8 took the book I was reading with me, but found another 2 at the airport and read both of them whilst away - now I'm back I can get back into The Best Yes ( as well as an audiobook I'm listening to, and an ebook that's on the go....) 

So, The Beach Cafe was a nice easy read, a little under 500 pages, a story of trials and success. Evie has always been the black sheep of her family, and following the tragic and untimely death of her Aunt, she inherits a cafe on the beach in the village that she spent countless childhood holidays. Her family has only doubts in her ability to manage a cafe, and are convinced failure is the only outcome unless she sells the cafe. 

Walking out of a workplace filled with sexual harassment and abuse causes tension between Evie and her long term boyfriend, who is a serious, sensible man, not at all fond of spontaneity or things he deems "irresponsible". Evie heads out of town to her new cafe to try and sort out the staff and how the cafe is actually - a far more daunting task then expected when she comes against upset and angry locals who miss her Aunt, also believing the gossip that Evie will take the easy way out and sell the cafe to some hot shot developer; staff who leave much to be desired; and a cafe surrounded by rubbish, tables filled with dirty dishes, no stock in the kitchen, and customers being served off ham in their sandwiches... Not a great start! 

When her temp agency calls to let her know another position has come up, she feels she has no choice but to go back to the city, her boyfriend, and the harsh judgement of her family. But this position is horrible too, and the judgement of her family is getting her down... 

A candid conversation with her best friend gets her mind ticking... A phone call from her only friend in the village with bad reports about the cafe staff makes up her mind...

Deciding to leave her new job and to go back to her cafe. 

A decision that pushes the tension in her relationship to breaking point... 

So Evie and her best friend pack up all of Evie's belongings and jump in the car without looking back. 

The hurdles just keep coming, it seems nothing can go right for Evie, but she is determined to finally succeed. Her cafe grows in strength and popularity, regaining the joy that it had under the hands of her Aunt. Finally Evie belongs, this is her village, and they embrace her and her cafe. 

Light reading, enjoyable read, good fun.

52 in 52 - book 4 - Flash - Rachel Anne Ridge

15 minutes into the 14th day of the year, I've finished my 4th book! Flash is the story of a homeless donkey who single handedly turned the lives of a Texan family upside down when he appeared late one night on their long driveway, beaten up and belonging to no one. As time passed and no one claimed him, he was given the name Flash, and became part of the family. Through the ups and downs of family life, Rachel tells her own story. When life seems to hit rock bottom, she observes the incredible resilience of the scruffy but charming Flash, and finds a number of God truths she needs for her life mirrored in the way that Flash lives his. A heartwarming and at times heartbreaking true story, laughter and tears! This book will definitely be read again, more than once!! 

52in52- Book 3 - Go Set a Watchman - Harper Lee

A very late night last night involved tea, spa bath, bubbles, and book! On the 7th day of Jan I am celebrating finishing another book! 

Go Set a Watchman is something of a sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird, published in 1960, which has become classic literature and a staple for students to study. Harper Lee was born in 1926, this year she is 90!! And last year (2015) she released Go Set a Watchman. If that's not inspirational, I'm not sure what is. 

Another book following the life of "Scout" - Jean Louise Finch - who is now in her mid 20s and has been living in New York for a number of years. She is back home in Maycombe and is broken by what she sees and hears from the local men in the county regarding the push to prevent the Negro population from having equal rights. Something Jean Louise doesn't even think is a question- everyone is human and should be treated as such. 

 It is well written and I thoroughly enjoyed it, it has been a bit over a decade since I've read To Kill a Mockingbird! Perhaps that's one that needs revisiting. 

Only a few days left of our holiday. We have seen so many friends and loved ones and were even able to help by looking after our friends children whilst she put on her nurses hat and went to assist with a serious boat incident that occurred next to the cafe we were eating at. Very emotionally draining to witness incidents like that, but so blessed to have been there to (attempt) to entertain the girls whilst their mum saved the day! Today we are avoiding bush fires to try and venture back to Perth. Might take 4 hours longer than it should... But that's all part of the adventure isn't it! 

God bless! 

52 in 52 - Book 2 - Made With Love by Tricia Goyer and Sherry Gore

I love holidays! Time to actually get stuck into reading! Last night I finished my second book of the year, Made With Love, an Amish novel written by Tricia Goyer and Sherry Gore. 340-ish pages, easy to read, filled with delicious looking recipes, it follows the story of Lovina Miller, a young Amish woman who is following her dream of opening her own pie shop- a dream that clashes with her Mem's dream for her and her 4 sisters, that they each find a suitable man and be married. The book provokes thought and reflection as it takes you through the story. The simplified life of the Amish does not remove them from the complexities of human emotions and relations, great book, fun and easy read. 

Today we are off to see friends and explore the beautiful south west of Western Australia! I'll be sure to pack another book! 

God bless! 

52in52 - book 1 - Miracle at the Higher Grounds Cafe - Max Lucado

All resolutions start full steam ahead and with great promise and motivation, I hope to make this one last the distance- 52 books in 52 weeks. Today I read Max Lucado's Miracle at the Higher Grounds Cafe, written with Candace Lee and Eric Newman. It's a 180-odd paged book centering around the life of Chelsea, a woman who's "fresh start" in life following the break down of her marriage and death of her mother is turning out to be her biggest challenge yet. Her guardian angel "Mannie" devises a plan to help her find her way back to where she needs to be to put her life back together.
Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, it was light and yet encountered some heavier topics that have become far too normalised in our society.
I highly recommend it and I am sure I will read it again in. The future!